The early parts of the next day passed similarly without noteworthy events. More history and no practical knowledge to be gleaned…

  Soon came the long-awaited last class. Another blur of useless historical names. By the time the final bell rang I was itching to get to work. Me and Magnar did not hesitate and left promptly. I was happy he was willing to help, and as far as I could tell… The physical work was making him happy. Once again, the two of us were before the gate of the tower’s courtyard.

  As we entered Magnar asked.

  “Cato, why are you using these dusty stones? Don’t get me wrong… I’m fine with doing whatever you say here, but… I heard this is some cheap stone used for baking ovens…” he paused thinking of how to continue. “I didn’t see any other stone for the forge around here… And you used it in the tower too… Why something that doesn’t even hold against my grip?”

  “Oh… Well first of I’m not loaded… second the tower was built from the same sort of rock to begin with… You didn’t see anything fall from it or its stone bricks, did you?”

  “Well, no, but… How can it be the same stone? Is the tower really made of that same cinder-stone?”

  “Yeah…” ‘Cinder-stone… Quite the fitting name for volcanic tuff…’ “It hardens over time after it is harvested…”

  “How does that work? Does aether start flowing through it?”

  “No, no, no. Do you really think it would be so cheap if that was what happens?”

  “Then?”

  “It’s simply a property it has. Besides it’s also a great insulator and with some water and grinding two blocks will get bonded quite strongly and hermetically. Removes the need for other messy bonding materials.”

  “Insulator?” Hearing Magnar’s question, it became apparent I had used an English term by mistake… But there was no word for ’insulator’ in this language as far as I knew…

  “A material that doesn’t allow or strongly impedes an exchange of energy... In our case, it inhibits the exchange of temperature between the outside space and the space inside the tower. Meaning I get more warmth for less fuel.”

  He shrugged. “If you say so…”

  Then we proceeded to lay the rest of the floor with cinder-stone. Slab by slab, we connected the pieces with water and laid them on the sandy foundation. I marked the zones where the pillars were, as they would serve well for anvil placement.

  About an hour in our work, Cassia arrived too. How she entered? Well, a small thump rang out and a golden waterfall was all we saw, for it fluttered down, glimmering under the sunrays. Then a shriek as she charged out of the overgrowth patting herself all over to get rid of the bugs that clung to her.

  This was met with our laughter. Yet, I didn’t dare let her struggle alone, as she’d find a way, or look for one, to get back at me. Luckily, she didn’t come dressed in the uniform, but in some tighter, training clothes. The clothes still hang loosely on her, but they wouldn’t move to much.

  After her ‘debugging’, she got her composure back. However, the rosiness in her cheek was only amplified after the fact.

  “What are you guys doing here anyway?” She asked to redirect the attention.

  “A forge.” I answered promptly. “Magnar’s helping… I should go buy some straight logs… Supports for a roof extending from the tower to cover this platform…”

  “No need for a roof… It doesn’t rain nor snow here… The academy grounds are protected from this.”

  “Hm? But wind still flows through? The other day it was quite strong too…” This new info was leaving me puzzled.

  “I don’t know. It’s something to do with a water control array…It hasn’t rained or snowed on the academy grounds in like thirty years now…” She answered with pride in her voice.

  “Hm? That would be helpful back home!” Magnar intervened. “Are we going to learn how to make it in that formation and arrays class?”

  “I don’t know… I’d have to ask father…” Cassia answered, her voice growing quieter.

  “We should resume our work… I still need to carve the forge stones after we are done with the floor…”

  “Right!” Answered Magnar.

  “So how does this all go?” Asked Cassia. “Like, I see some water, but you don’t seem to have anything else to bind the stones… Also… Is this cinder-stone? Why’d you use this of all things?”

  “Magnar, prove you understood my explanation and show Cassia.” A small mischievous smirk almost formed on my lips.

  Magnar nodded and took two slabs; he went in front of Cassia. He slapped the two slabs together and rubbed them strongly. A dust filled gust hit Cassia in the face. She shook, coughs escaping her lips. She ran out, her body shaking and her eyes red, the brilliance of her hair clouded.

  “Pfff…” I couldn’t hold back a laugh. I expected this all. Magnar that idiot didn’t think of the height difference… Also, he just had to make a show of it…

  “Come here… You need to wash out what got in your eyes.” Fun as fun, but it was a bit dangerous. “Magnar start explaining. Next time consider the height difference.

  “Right…” He said feeling embarrassed. He followed me and Cassia around the tower to the shower. During these days I had also drilled through a thick branch, making a pipe that I connected to the barrel. This allowed me to have a faucet like water outlet. I had Cassia wash her face and hair while Magnar talked. I corrected him here and there.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  In the end Cassia stood on the side and further away from us. I guess she wouldn’t want anything to do with the work after what happened… As I arranged the rough blocks of volcanic tuff, I couldn't help but compare it to the steel fabrications of my old world. Steel was precise, but expensive. This stone, however... Not to mention it would be hard to get the needed facilities to shape steel as I need.

  But the volcanic tuff I had access to is more than just an ideal replacement. It is a great insulator, so even if the heat built up inside, the outside would at most be toasty, depending on the thickness. It was a volcanic rock so it could take the high temperatures needed and it was far easier to carve and shape.

  So, after figuring out the generic shape I started using aether to drill and carve. A horizontal T shape soon took shape. An empty cavity open to where the outside bellows would be and a downwards pointing pyramid shaped hole above. The tip of the cavity was missing, as the pyramid connected to the T, while the two parallel faces perpendicular to the front were elongated.

  Through that hole the generic airflow would go, then through the horizontal channel a bellows would be connected. This would be used to enhance the airflow and raise the heat. The difference was that the horizontal channel had an upward twist at the end. This was done so that the air from the bellows would go only towards the burning coal above and not disturb the existing airflow.

  In the end I expanded the firepot, as the pyramidal hole was called, the expansion was so that I could later add another ceramic layer of material, to avoid any possible vitrification or cracks.

  “Wait… If I do it like this…” I muttered my eyes going wide and losing focus. I sunk into thought. Faintly I heard Cassia talk with Magnar.

  “Why’d he stop?” Asked Cassia, concern palpable in her voice.

  “Ah, don’t worry he does that… He’s thinking… He has a lot of strange ideas, don’t bother asking. If he says you won’t understand then you won’t… He did it to me… My brain hurt the entire day after trying to figure out his explanation… It sounded like it made sense, but I couldn’t follow his idea to the end…”

  “Don’t you think we should be more worried about this?”

  “Nah, he’ll be fine in a bit. I think…” Magnar answered with growing uncertainty.

  Meanwhile I spun the problem in my head. With my current design the forge would have a gradient heat spread, with the greatest intensity near the front. This would not do as it would cause an uneven stress distribution, and the blade would bend or shatter during quenching…

  But this kind of design is also more efficient for smaller objects… My pupils shrunk, my eyes regained focus.

  “That’s it!” I knew what I had to do. I started carving four thin channels around the main horizontal one. I’d use a metal cover to shut the main channel, controlled with a small handle from outside.

  Pushed handle would mean open channel. After I was finished, I started working on the secondary channels that would come into play when the main opening was closed. These secondary channels would open in several spots along the length of the trapezoidal faces, blowing out air evenly.

  Carving the internal channels strained my mind. I had to split my mind in two: one part formed a tight, spinning drill of aether which’s scream was muffled by the rock as it ate into it; the other wove a gentle, constant wind current to whisk the dust away before it clogged the hole. The entire process done without seeing. Sweat formed on my forehead. It felt like trying to thread a needle while on a rocking chair with your eyes covered. Yet the result brought me great satisfaction, dust spewed out of the hole in a steady stream, like smoke from a miniature volcano.

  Soon I was done. Now I had to take care of the smoke collection. Now this would be somewhat difficult.

  After a bit of pondering, I decided to just use the same tactic as with the secondary ventilation channels. I made three millimeters wide channels going through several stacked stones. I designed a super sucker as it was called. It utilized the Bernoulli principle to create an insane suction force.

  This was essential for forging as no one would want their face blasted with smoke while they were busy smithing and forging. It was unpleasant and it caused pain in the eyes. But it smelled like hard work. Sure, you’d choke and cough on it, but it also gave a certain gravity to the work.

  As I finished carving the channels I started making contours, squares connecting the four edges. Then I took the to be chimney apart and split the carving work evenly with Magnar.

  “Hey, Cato, why’d you freeze like that all of a sudden?” Cassia asked me.

  “Hm? Oh… That… I realized the way I designed that initially would create a bad airflow that would focus the heat on a single small point. While not bad, it would cause problems if I were to craft a longer item like a sword… the item might crack or bend unnaturally during cooling or quenching.”

  “Ok… How does airflow influence heat?” She asked again.

  “Oh… Yeah, you probably never had to deal with a fire… Well, for something to burn, you need three things, air, fuel and an initial heat. You see for stuff to burn you need heat to start things up, then part of the air and the wood is consumed to produce more heat. This keeps the reaction going. Now if you give it more air you will generally get more heat as well.”

  “Ok… Where’d you learn all this?” She asked.

  “He learned under Fjorn, the dwarf. I’m sure your father has some of his works in his collection, he’s quite legendary in skill.” Magnar said happy to know more and feeling boastful.

  “That checks out…” Cassia’s lack of surprise or amazement bummed Magnar.

  “Why are you not surprised at all?”

  “She came to Rovandel to recruit me as a dog for her family.” I answered this time.

  “Stop saying it like that. Becoming a protégé isn’t the same as a dog…” She said alarmed and angry.

  “Sure… because I get a ring on my finger instead of a collar on my neck?” I shot back. “What could I use to shut down any requests I disagree with? Wouldn’t I be…” I was interrupted by Magnar that raised his hand. His eyes were fixated on Cassia, his cheeks firm, his brows furrowed.

  “You offered him a ring?” He placed a lot of emphasis on the word ‘ring’.

  “Ye… Yeah…” Cassia’s cheeks suddenly turned crimson, and she looked down fidgeting.

  “Cato, do you know what offering a ring means?” Magnar looked at me his expression dead serious.

  “No. I don’t… Why? It just wouldn’t signify something like engagement, right?” My thoughts flew back to the customs of Earth as a chilling possibility settled in my mind. Magnar was looking at me silently. “Wait… Don’t tell me that’s what it is…”

  “Yeah…” He answered firmly.

  “Are you freaking crazy?” I spun and faced Cassia, who was still looking down. Now even the tip of her ears was bright red. “Why’d you try to get engaged with me? And without saying that’s what you were doing of all things?”

  “My father said so… That I must get you in our family at all costs and bind you in a way that would not allow you to wriggle free… He told me to give you the ring…”

  “Then is he crazy?” I asked feeling even more incredulous.

  “Ahem…” Magnar intervened. “The situation of her house is quite peculiar… I understand why they’d do that and try to pull you in…”

  “So… Knowing what the ring means…” Cassia pulled out a small box from her pocket ready to give it to me. “Will you accept it now?”

  “No freaking way. Are you wrong in the head? Why’d I accept the ring now that I know? Its…”

  “To hell with you and your stupid tower!” She shouted. She ran and jumped over the gate, leaving behind only silence.

  “That was tactless… I thought you were smarter than that…” Magnar remarked, shaking his head.

  “Maybe it was, but it’s impossible for me to accept when it’s not something coming from her own will. Binding ourselves over desperation and deception would only cause pain. Besides what could push a parent to make his daughter marry a Hillbilly from some village, that he never met before?”

  “They are about to fall from high nobility. The household might be destroyed even…”

  “Why?”

  “Their domain powerhouse is reaching the end of its lifespan and there is no heir for him. They’d lose their high-end power and backbone… Well, I better go too… Perhaps I can pacify her a little…” He said raising to his feet. I threw him the key and he was on his way.

  “Damn it…”

  I was left pondering on the gravity of the situation and its ridiculous development… What a shitty way for things to go down…

  !